SMALL BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESS CONTINUES
TO DOMINATE THE JOB MARKET
12
TCBusiness.com
GREG GARDNER
Laura White, Andy Cornelius and Jed Wood look over a transom swim door at Whiticar Boat Works in Stuart.
Employers look for qualified workers, but
communication and team abilities play strong roles
Jim Dragseth’s uncle, Curt Whiticar,
started repairing and refurbishing boats
in 1947 in Stuart when he established
Whiticar Boat Works. Jim’s father brought
his family to Stuart in 1949 and joined
his brother in law making the foundation
for a company that remains vibrant 70
years later. Jim joined in 1969, sweeping
floors, sanding boats and doing whatever
needed done. Today, he is president of the
company.
On the day after Labor Day, he led
nearly 50 employees at Whiticar boat yards
in Stuart and Fort Pierce as they spent
long hours returning boats from dry storage
after Hurricane Dorian passed by the
Treasure Coast.
The Whiticar company has 48 workers,
which puts it in the largest segment of
small businesses in Florida, where nearly
40 percent of companies have between
20 and 49 employees. He says he faces the
same risks and rewards as small businesses
around the country. After assuring solid
business practices of his own company, success
may depend on the overall workings of
the economy or the increasing difficulty of
finding and keeping qualified help.
There is nothing small about small business
on the Treasure Coast and in Florida
when it comes to impact on the economy
and people’s lives. According to the Florida
Small Business Development Center, 99
percent of all businesses in the state employ
fewer than 50 people.
Small businesses create three out >>
BY BERNIE WOODALL
/TCBusiness.com
